Enter our new international giveaway for a chance to win the brand new iPhone 16 Pro.
PC Market Grew in Q4 2019, But Mac Shipments Fell
A 5.3 percent drop in Mac shipments was more than offset by the “continued momentum” of iPhone and iPad sales, analysts found.
Apple TV+ Wins First Award, As Billy Crudup Takes Home Critics' Choice Honor
The Morning Show’s Billy Crudup was named Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the Critics’ Choice Awards – Apple TV+’s first win.
How to Avoid Online Scams With This Guide
Emily Long put together a guide on how to avoid online scams, like not clicking links in emails, not sharing passwords, and more.
The basic rule for surviving internet scams is simple: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A little common sense goes a long way to realizing that you aren’t going to suddenly win the Spanish National Lottery when you didn’t even know you had a ticket.
A useful guide.
Tidbits Managing Editor Josh Centers (#6) - TMO Background Mode Interview
Josh Centers is the Managing Editor of Tidbits.com and has published many Take Control (TC) books. He’s the author of Take Control of Apple TV and Take Control of Home Automation. He’s been writing the Take Control books for iOS since version 8, and his latest book is Take Control iOS 13 and iPadOS 13.
In his sixth appearance on the show, Josh and I explored what’s in store for Apple in 2020. We started by looking at the iMac Pro and its possible fate. Then we turned to the mythical xMac, and continued with the MacBook Pro line. In part II of the show, we took a look at the HomePod. Is it a dead product? Then we looked at iPhone (2020) 5G wrinkles. We finished by wondering what new thing Apple might do in 2020.
Attorney General Barr Asks Apple to Break Encryption
Attorney General William Barr has asked Apple to unlock the iPhone used by the shooter in Pensacola, Florida.
EU Wants to Standardize Smartphone Charging Ports
Lawmakers in the European Union will discuss whether smartphone charging ports should be standardized by tech companies.
Adobe Finally Sends One of Its Last Legacy Products Into The Cloud
Content Management System Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service is one of the last Adobe products to have been moved to the cloud.
Regulatory Filing Indicates New MacBook Pro Coming Soon
A recent regulatory filing indicated that a new MacBook Pro could be on the way in the coming months. Apple only released the 16″ model in November 2019. AppleInsider took a look at what’s in the document
The new filings with the ECC include just one new model number, A2289, which is identified as an Apple-branded portable computer and associated spare components. No other details are made public about the model, aside from it being capable of running macOS 10.15 Catalina. It is unknown what the model indicates, as this could refer to an update to any of the MacBook variants available to date. The model number is accompanied by filings for two Apple TV models, using numbers that relate to already-available models. These are most likely to indicate the use of tvOS 13 on the Apple TV and Apple TV 4K. Another line is dedicated to the rackmount variant of the new Mac Pro, which has yet to be made available to purchase by Apple.
Cable Haunt, iPod Timeline – TMO Daily Observations 2020-01-13
Charlotte Henry and Dave Hamilton join host Kelly Guimont to discuss the Cable Haunt malware, and the (rapid) iPod development timeline.
Since iOS 13 Location Advertisers Have Seen Less Data
iOS 13 added a feature to give customers alerts when apps use their location data in the background. And it’s hurting advertisers that use this data.
Chrome and Firefox Ending Notification Permission Pop-Ups
Fed up of getting pop-ups from your web browser asking for permission to send notifications? Chrome and Safari are looking to end that, Wired reported.
Chrome project manager PJ McLachlan wrote in a blog post this week that the company would start limiting the notifications in one of the next versions of the browser, version 80. “Chrome 80 will show, under certain conditions, a new, quieter notification permission UI that reduces the ‘interruptiveness’ of notification permission requests,” McLachlan says. So what does this look like? If you usually block browser notifications, Chrome will put permission requests from websites behind a small notification symbol at the right end of your browser’s URL search bar. On mobile there will be a small alert at the bottom of your browser window, which vanishes after a few seconds, saying that notifications are blocked.
‘Cable Haunt’ Flaw Leaves Millions of Modems Vulnerable
A flaw in cable modems called “Cable Haunt’ puts hundreds of millions at risk from hackers. It requires a patch from ISPs.
The Original iPod Was Created and Released in Less Than a Year, Ex-Apple SVP Tony Fadell Reveals
The original iPod was designed, engineered, and released all in the same year, according to Ex-Apple SVP Tony Fadell.
Build an Apple I Replica With This $99 SmartyKit
Steve Wozniak built the Apple I computer by hand, and it sold at US$666.66 when it went on sale July 1976. And with a product called SmartyKit you can build a replica of it.
Besides a cool DIY project, the company behind SmartyKit also proposes it as an educational tool for those interested in knowing what are the main parts of every computer, what a processor is and how it works, how a video signal is formed and how a simple operating system works.
CES – Solo New York Recycled Hybrid Backpack
LAS VEGAS – Solo New York was showing off their Re:cycled backpack series at CES 2020, all of which are made from recycled water bottles and other biodegradable materials. The Hybrid backpack here easily converts between being a briefcase and a backpack, perfect for that on-the-go lifestyle where you’re not sure what mode you’ll need to be in throughout the day.
CES Wrap-up, Quick Tips, Cool Stuff Found – Mac Geek Gab 797
John and Dave are back from CES with new stuff they’ve learned, Cool Stuff Found, Quick Tips, and more. Of course, your questions are featured, as well, including analyzing USB power draw, fast external drives, folder permissions, and more. Press play to learn five new things with your two favorite geeks!
CES – Elliptic Labs Virtual Smart Sensors
LAS VEGAS – Elliptic Labs has developed software that uses a smartphone’s speakers and microphones to do motion sensing – and a lot more – without adding any hardware to the phone. I happened to meet CEO Laila Danielsen on a bus where she showed us just one demo application of their tech.
CES – OWC Mercury Elite Pro Thunderbolt 3 Dock adds RAID, Ports, and Power
OWC Founder and CEO, Larry O’Connor, takes us through the details of their Mercury Elite Pro Dock. This is a Thunderbolt 3 Dock and Dual-Drive RAID all-in-one. RAID 0 or 1 is done in hardware, or you can configure it as a JBOD and manage it yourself. With seven ports, including Ethernet, two USB 3.1 Gen 1, DisplayPort 1.2, SD Card, and Gigabit Ethernet, this US$299.99 device might be exactly what you need to complete your setup.
14 Years Ago Steve Jobs Introduced the First MacBook Pro
14 years ago today Steve Jobs unveiled the first MacBook Pro at Macworld 2006. Most of the keynote is focused on other products, like Aperture, iLife, iMove, iWeb, iWork, and more. The MacBook Pro’s introduction came as a “one last thing” announcement. In this segment, he discusses the performance per watt of various Apple microprocessors like the PowerPC G4 and PowerPC G5. But Intel’s Core Duo processor was better at energy efficiency, and that’s what the MacBook Pro used.
Trade In Values, Cryptocurrency Attacks – TMO Daily Observations 2020-01-10
Charlotte Henry and Bryan Chaffin join host Kelly Guimont to discuss trade-in values dropping in Apple Stores, and a new malware attack.
FCC Urged to Do Something About SIM Swapping
Lawmakers are urging the FCC to do something about SIM swapping attacks, which have been responsible for the theft of tens of millions.
SIM swapping is an insidious form of mobile phone fraud that is often used to steal large amounts of cryptocurrencies and other items of value from victims. All too frequently, the scam involves bribing or tricking employees at mobile phone stores into seizing control of the target’s phone number and diverting all texts and phone calls to the attacker’s mobile device.
BenjiLock Introduces BenjiLock TSA, Updates Original Product
LAS VEGAS, NV — BenjiLock is introducing BenjiLock TSA, the latest version of their fingerprint lock at CES 2020. Robbie Cabral, Inventor and CEO, highlighted the features of this lock.
Pixelmator Pro: Image Magic via Machine Learning
Dr. Mac has discovered something approaching the holy grail of image-processing—a way to enlarge (or reduce) an image with fewer visible artifacts and jagged edges, and less blurriness and other unwanted elements.
This Smart Trainer Improves Your Posture in Just 2 Weeks: $89
We have a deal on Upright GO 2, a device and companion app designed to help you improve your posture. Essentially, you place the device directly on the skin of your upper back using the hypoallergenic adhesive strips that come in the box. It then buzzes when you’re slouching. Check out the promo video to see more about how it works. The Upright GO 2 is $89 through our deal.